WICHITA FALLS, Texas (AP) — State and federal climatologists are hosting a public forum to discuss the persistent drought that has afflicted the Southern Plains states since 2011.
The forum Tuesday in Wichita Falls will focus on the city’s stage 5 catastrophic drought conditions. Discussions will include financial resources available for suffering residents in the Red River Valley near the border between Texas and Oklahoma. Panelists will also present weather forecasts for the next six months.
State climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon has said the current drought is the second-worst on record in Texas since 1895.
One of the forum’s organizers is the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. The federal agency has participated in half a dozen drought forums in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The forum in Wichita Falls is expected to draw the most attendees.